HUNTINGDON — At any level of football, a team that is able to create opportunities for itself, and capitalize on those opportunities, will be successful.

Huntingdon did that Friday night, and as a result, the Bearcats will be participating in the District 6 Class 3A championship game next week.

A 67-yard interception return by sophomore defensive back Cole Lane in the first quarter and a blocked punt in the second quarter that paved the way for senior running back Landon Erdman’s first of three touchdown runs, helped set the tone for Huntingdon, which rolled to a 42-7 mercy-rule victory over Tyrone in a District 6 Class 3A semifinal matchup at War Vets Field.

The win puts second-seeded Huntingdon into next Friday night’s district championship game at Altoona’s Mansion Park against top-seeded and defending district champion Penn Cambria, which routed Forest Hills, 41-7 in the other semifinal game Friday.

Lane got the ball rolling for Huntingdon in a big way after the Bearcats defense sandwiched Tyrone senior quarterback Eli Woomer and forced him into an ill-fated throw. Lane made the interception at the Huntingdon 33 and raced down the right sideline, beating a Tyrone defender to the end zone.

“I was able to read his eyes, he got hit and tried to get rid of the ball, threw it to the sideline and I was able to intercept it,” Lane said. “It was a big momentum-changer for us.”

So was the blocked punt by several Huntingdon rushers in the second quarter that was recovered by freshman Luke Mykut at the Tyrone 17. Four running plays later, Erdman — who surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season later in the game while rushing for 149 yards on 16 carries — bolted into the end zone off right tackle to give Huntingdon a 13-0 advantage.

“We emphasized seizing the momentum tonight,” said Huntingdon coach Tim Lucko, whose Bearcats. “And I’m proud of my kids for being able to put themselves in that position with the interception and the blocked punt.”

It was an indication of how things would roll all night for Tyrone, which could never get its running game untracked. Huntingdon went on to build a 35-0 lead and kick the mercy-rule clock into effect on a 9-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Elliott Guisler to sophomore wideout Javaughn Dodson and Erdman’s subsequent two-point conversion run with 3:27 left in the third quarter.

“First, they get the pick-6 and then we have our first punt all year blocked that sets up another touchdown for them,” Tyrone coach John Franco said. “They beat us 1-on-1 on the line of scrimmage and we couldn’t get anything established with our running game. When things go wrong, they really go wrong, and it was one of those nights where everything that could go wrong for us did go wrong.”

Play of the game: Lane’s pick-6 got Huntingdon off and running.

Player of the game: Erdman scored three touchdowns, on runs of 3 yards and 1 yard in the first half, and 52 yards in the fourth quarter. He surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season with a 20-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Unsung heroes: Huntingdon’s offensive and defensive lines which helped the Bearcats avenge a 41-21 regular-season loss at Tyrone.

“The difference tonight was that we were able to control the line of scrimmage,” Lucko said. “I’m proud of my kids all around.”

Most vital statistic: Huntingdon won the field position game. The Bearcats started all of their offensive drives in the first three quarters on the Tyrone end of the field.

Erdman on reaching 1,000 yards: “It feels good, but I couldn’t do it without my linemen (tackles Noah Metz and Everett Payne), guards Dom Peruso and A.J. Rivello, and center Owen Herncane.) I’m thankful for all of them.”

Notable: Junior Ben Walk played most of the game at quarterback for Tyrone, and threw for 123 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown pass to junior Mason Emigh in the third quarter. Woomer, who has been battling an illness all week, moved out to wide receiver and caught five passes for 67 yards. He also threw for 78 yards. “Ben Walk did some nice things tonight,” Franco said. “Eli has been sick this week, and he wanted to stay in this game, so he moved out to wide receiver.” … Dodson made an interception return from his cornerback spot and returned the ball nearly the length of the field in the third quarter, setting up his 9-yard touchdown reception from Guisler … Senior back Evan Edmiston scored on a 20-yard third-quarter run for Huntingdon, which also got an interception from Guisler.

Records: Tyrone (6-5); Huntingdon (8-3).

Next week: Tyrone’s season is complete. Huntingdon plays Penn Cambria in the District 6 Class 3A championship game next Friday night at Mansion Park.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Tyrone 0 0 7 0– 7

Huntingdon 7 13 15 7–42

First Quarter

H–Lane 67 interception return (Snare kick), 7:52.

Second Quarter

H–Erdman 3 run (kick failed), 9:58.

H–Erdman 1 run (Snare kick), 1:44.

Third Quarter

H–Edmiston 20 run (Snare kick), 7:20.

H–Dodson 9 pass from Guisler (Erdman run), 3:27.

T–M. Emigh 14 pass from Walk (Novak kick), 0:00.

Fourth Quarter

H–Erdman 52 run (Snare kick), 11:27.

TEAM STATISTICS T H

First downs 13 9

Total yards 278 215

Rushes-yards 20-71 31-206

Yards passing 201 9

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 12-33-3 1-2-0

Punts-avg. 5-21.2 3-44.5

Fumbles-lost 2-0 4-1

Penalties-yards 9-79 4-38

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Tyrone, Whitby 9-39, A. Emigh 6-19, Starr 2-15, Woomer 3-(-2). Huntingdon, Erdman 16-148, Edmiston 6-37, Guisler 3-15, E. Rivello 3-14, Mykut 1-7, Lane 1-(-8). TEAM 1-(-7).

PASSING–Tyrone, Walk 9-28-2-123, Woomer 3-5-1-78. Huntingdon, Guisler 1-2-0-9.

RECEIVING–Tyrone, Woomer 5-67, M. Emigh 4-86, A. Emigh 1-33, Parsons 1-16, Whitby 1-(-1). Huntingdon, Dodson 1-9.